


moonrise (and the jaded sunrise that follows)

by imaginaryinspiration



Series: together is better than apart [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Alain - Freeform, Angst, Chosen One, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I love their whole dynamic and I love the XY gang they're the best, Kalos-chihou | Kalos Region (Pokemon), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, These two best buds, kalos crisis, lysandre - Freeform, saving the world (again)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25671760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginaryinspiration/pseuds/imaginaryinspiration
Summary: Not all is well after the Kalos Crisis ends. Sure, Ash saved the world (again), but with that comes all its own problems. One does not very easily get over being kidnapped (for like the hundredth time) and forced to watch as your world is destroyed (maybe Ash, but still). Clemont just wants Ash to be happy, even as he's still reeling from the Crisis and his own experiences. But maybe, together, they can get through it.
Relationships: Citron | Clemont & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: together is better than apart [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861465
Comments: 4
Kudos: 82





	moonrise (and the jaded sunrise that follows)

**Author's Note:**

> I have been wanting to write something like this for awhile, I feel like they didn't do enough in the show. But that's what stories are for! :). There's some French in this, since they are in Kalos. Translation at the end. Tw for PTSD, pretty mild but still.

moonrise (and the jaded sunrise that follows)

lever de lune (et le lever de soleil blasé qui suit)

The moon was full, bright, so seemingly full of hope it seemed saccharine and hollow. Fitting, for a night like this. Full of fake hope when really all he wanted was to sleep and never wake up. To close his eyes and try to forget what had just happened, to block out the comparisons and the memories that all blended together. You could only save the world so many times before it all started to feel like the same old dance. Like today, this whole night, and yesterday, could really have been the same as when he was twelve years old, dealing with legendary birds and a storm that could destroy the Earth. Like this could have been the same as a disappearing town, or the land and sea fighting for dominance while he was locked in a closet, stuck in the middle, _again,_ like this could be the tree of life. It felt like an endless time loop. Save the world, over and over, like the universe would not allow him a break. He felt so, so— so _empty_. Hopeless. Tired. Like he wanted to sink into the floor, letting gravity take ahold of his limbs. _(_ Just like when he was with Alain and they struck him with the Confuse Ray and he couldn’t stop himself from falling down, struggling and failing to keep awake when he just _knew he needed to—)._

Save the world 3 or 4 times, take down a regional syndicate who wanted to destroy the world somehow, go home and try not to contemplate his existence too hard and throw himself into a new journey so he wouldn’t have to, make new friends. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Again and again. (But what scared him was how close he came to _believing_ _Lysandre, letting him get into his head about the world)_ Ash was terrified of how Lysandre tried to get into his head and almost succeeded! He’d almost listened! And looking over the city, being destroyed, while he was powerless to stop it, floating what felt like miles above the ground, restrained and forced to watch. This— this felt worse than the other times. _Somehow._ Somehow, this trumped all the other times he had to save the world. Maybe it was how close he came to failing. Maybe it was because he specifically had been targeted, his love for his Pokemon used against him, almost harnessed to use against the ones he loved the most. Somehow it was worse because he had almost been the one to destroy the world. He wasn’t stopping someone else this time, he had to stop himself. (And he _knew,_ deep down, it wasn’t really his fault! If _Zygarde_ couldn’t resist against the Mega Evolution Energy, how was he expected to? And yet he did! He did and yet he still felt like he had failed. Crossed some unnamed boundary and had still somehow escaped the consequences he knew he deserved to face.)

And Alain! He trusted him! Yet he just _stood there, doing nothing,_ while Team Flare took him, while Lysandre monologued, while Ash was stuck. He stood there. And he knew he should forgive him, he understood why he had done it, why he’d collected the energy. For Mairin, and Chespin. But why had he stood there?! Forcefully pushing the thought from his mind, he shook his head. Alain was _not_ the one to blame here. Lysandre was. (But how had he survived?! Ash remembered standing there, so haunted and terrified, as Lysandre threw himself over the edge of Prism tower, seemingly with the intent to die?! Ash had thrown himself over the tower too, earlier, but that was to save Pikachu. How did he survive? He had tried to save him, Greninja desperately reaching, but he was just too late.) And at the _end—_

_“_ Ash? What are you doing out here?”

He jumped. He knew that voice, Clemont. He turned his head, ever so slightly. “Hey, Clemont. I just- I needed a minute. Look- look how bright the moon is.”

“It’s almost midnight. We stayed up all night last night. You really need sleep.”

“I know, I just…”

Of course Ash knew. Of course he needed sleep. But he couldn’t, not when images of _Lysandre throwing himself off the tower_ and the thought of playing a hand in the destruction of his world played through his mind. He turned back to the moon, leaning over the balcony, back turned to his friend. Clemont walked up slowly to join him. 

They didn’t say anything, for awhile. Just stared up at the full moon, pondering. Clemont was the one who broke the silence. “So. We won. Kalos is still standing. We did it.”

No response.

“With Greninja, you were really, really awesome. It was so cool and you guys seemed like the heroes I’ve always known you were.”

Ash tensed up next to him. With a glance, Clemont could tell he was trying to hold back a grimace. He took a breath and started speaking. “You know, you were pretty awesome too. And I’m— I’m sorry about Clembot. That must have been really hard for you. But at least Xerosic seemed like you were giving him a hard time!”

Clemont looked at him inquisitively. “How did you know I battled him? I don’t think I ever had the time to tell anyone.”

“I heard him mention you when he was on a call with Lysandre. He sounded like he was struggling. Awesome job!” He pumped his fist, visibly more enthusiastic already.

“…so you were fighting with Lysandre on the top of Prism tower? You know, Bonnie mentioned a giant column of water shooting up into the sky from there. Was that you and Greninja?”

Ash tensed again. “Yes.”

“How…how did you get up there? I was trying to get into Prism tower too and I never saw you. Were you with Alain?”

Images of waking up to see the whole city destroyed below him and all of his Pokemon restrained and unconscious flashed before his eyes. “I, uh…” a pause. “I don’t know, actually. You could probably ask Alain. But it’s— it’s not important.”

“Were you unconscious?”

“Did you know that the night before the finals, Lysandre came up to me and said he was really interested in watching me battle? I was _fascinating.”_ He spit vehemently. “And he was so— he was so predatory there. I shouldn’t have trusted him, but I did.”

Clemont seemed uneasy, like there was something really, really big, and something really, really important Ash was Not Telling Him. “…predatory?” _Unconscious. Predatory. Pillar of water. Alain. Team Flare. Lysandre. Fighting him._ “Did… did Team Flare take you up to the top?”

Ash turned his gaze to the moon. He nodded, ever so slightly. “And, and, and, and—-and up there. Lysandre. And Alain. He—he made me so _angry. Tellement en colère!_ And I was so confused. But I couldn’t do _anything!_ I could just watch, knowing you guys were fighting, and knowing I wasn’t, and watching Alain _standing there, doing nothing,_ while Lysandre talked about ‘Les Choisis’” _The Chosen Ones,_ Clemont realized. “and this nonsense about creating a better world where all of the ugliness is erased. He was planning on killing everyone!” He was panting, trying to keep his voice low when all he wanted to do was yell. Clemont could see tears pricking in his eyes.

“And then—“. And then the mega-evolution energy. Red power, energy, consuming him. Like a thousand needles. Like burning hot fire searing his brain, and his heart, and his skin, blistering everything with the hate it contained. It hurt so _much. And Greninja._ He knew Greninja was in just as much pain. And he— he _almost succumbed! Almost succumbed to the hate._ And if he had! If he had! Lysandre would have won! “And then used the mega-evolution energy on me and Greninja.” At Clemont’s shocked by curious gaze, he continued. “The energy that turned Zygarde, and Squishy, evil. The red glowy stuff. That. It was filled with so much _hate._ I could feel Lysandre’s hate of everything. He didn’t expect us to resist though.” He said with a smirk, albeit small. “It was all thanks to Pikachu, bringing me out of whatever trance it was. And then we were free. Greninja and I used our power. And my love, our love, for each other, for my Pokemon, for you guys, for the world, for everyone and everything. Because I _refuse_ to give up the idea that love always wins, over hate. If I did, I- !”

Clemont decided that Ash definitely needed a hug right now. Very badly. And so did Greninja, apparently, because with a small hiss and pop Greninja was out of his ball back in their Pokemon center room and leaped quietly over to them to join their group hug. Pikachu bounced over too, onto Ash’s shoulder, then head, and settling there.

He laughed, surprised. He was smiling again, which was good. Pikachu knew that Ash had never gotten out of anything easy. He felt just as hopeless as Ash sometimes, that they shouldn’t always have to save the world. But he couldn’t stop it. Pikachu knew that. Ash knew that. Greninja knew it too, not all of it, but enough of it that he gathered from Ash’s turbulent but well hidden emotions through their connection.

Clemont didn’t. He couldn’t. He hadn’t been there through enough of the hard times. The world-saving adventures and Legendaries they’d met in Kalos (other than, obviously, last night) hadn’t been nearly as dangerous or (Ash and Pikachu hated the word) traumatizing as some of the other times.

But he didn’t need to know. (Pikachu still thought Ash should open up a bit more to his friends, but he supposed it made sense that he didn’t. One, to avoid thinking about it, having to explain it, and deal with their shock. But also because after Unova, after Brock left, no one seemed to believe Ash anymore. Called him a kid. That made him want to give a nice harsh shocking to anyone who said that, because Ash wasn’t a _liar!)_ Maybe he would know. Maybe, after this, Ash could open up to some of his closest and nicest friends, Clemont and Serena and Bonnie. Just maybe.

“Regarder la lune. Ce lever de la lune. C'est très beau. Et le lever du soleil suivra, ressuscité sur un monde non détruit par Lysandre. On a gagné, Ash. Et nous avons persévéré. Nous avons sauvé Kalos, ensemble. Ne jamais abandonner jusqu'à ce que ce soit fini. Never give up until it’s over!”

**Author's Note:**

> “Regarder la lune. Ce lever de la lune. C'est très beau. Et le lever du soleil suivra, ressuscité sur un monde non détruit par Lysandre. On a gagné, Ash. Et nous avons persévéré. Nous avons sauvé Kalos, ensemble. Ne jamais abandonner jusqu'à ce que ce soit fini.” = "Look at the moon. This moonrise. It's beautiful. And the sunrise will follow, risen on a world not destroyed by Lysandre. We won, Ash. And we persevered. We saved Kalos, together. Never give up until it's over."


End file.
